FBI agent arrested for ties to Oleg Deripaska

Charles McGonigal, who was the special agent in charge of counterintelligence in the FBI's New York Field Office, is under arrest over his ties to Oleg Deripaska, a Russian billionaire who has been sanctioned by the United States and criminally charged last year with violating those sanctions.

McGonigal retired from the FBI in 2018. He was arrested Saturday afternoon after he arrived at JFK Airport following travel in Sri Lanka, the sources said.

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He was charged along with a court interpreter, Sergey Shestakov, who also worked with Deripaska.

McGonigal, 54, is charged with violating U.S. sanctions by trying to get Deripaska off the sanctions list. McGonigal is one of the highest ranking former FBI officials ever charged with a crime.

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Both face money laundering charges in addition to charges for violating sanctions. Each of four counts carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

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After leaving the FBI, McGonigal subsequently worked for Deripaska through a law firm representing the Russian oil tycoon.

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McGonigal then worked directly for Deripaska, getting an initial payment of $51,000 and then payments of $41,790 each month for three months from August 2021 to November 2021.

  ABC

You may recall Deripaska was in the news a lot when the Russia, Russia, Russia "hoax" brought about impeachment charges against Donald Trump.

"The FBI is committed to the enforcement of economic sanctions designed to protect the United States and our allies, especially against hostile activities of a foreign government and its actors," FBI Assistant Director in Charge Michael Driscoll said in a statement. "Russian oligarchs like Oleg Deripaska perform global malign influence on behalf of the Kremlin and are associated with acts of bribery, extortion, and violence."

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The U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., unsealed a separate case Monday against McGonigal on charges he received $225,000 in cash from an individual with business interests in Europe who McGonigal knew was an employee of a foreign intelligence service.

When I learned of this story, I first thought of another story about which I'm currently reading: "The Fourth Man". It's an account of former CIA official Bob Baer about a double agent passing information to Russia who has never been caught, who is/was in either the CIA or the FBI. I think maybe that person would be older than McGonigal, because the evidence of the spying dealt with incidents in the mid-eighties, and the spy is believed to have been in the top ranks, probably of the CIA. On the other hand, we haven't been told McGonigal has been involved in espionage per se. Still, we probably won't know the extent of what's been going on because neither the CIA nor FBI like to air their dirty laundry.

And, of course, it still leaves the question of whether any double agents are currently working in our intelligence agencies. I think it's almost certain there are some.

An interesting conclusion in the Baer account is that this country may be at least partially responsible for ex-KGB officer Vladimir Putin's current position because with Saint Ronnie Regan's acclaimed destruction of the Soviet Union, the US stopped keeping close track of Russian intelligence agencies. I would have to argue then, that was not only a huge mistake for the world, it was a huge mistake for the US leading to the election of Donald Trump.

If you're interested in the fourth man story, there's also a 2-part podcast on it. And a YouTube investigative video. In July last year, a former CIA official who was a prime suspect came forward to deny he was the spy.  He would of course, wouldn't he?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 02/17/2023:  McGonigal story in Rolling Stone.